Inkheart
by bornbyfire
Summary: Ravenna Rookwood-Delacour-Riddle. Kelpie, Veela, Voldemort's daughter. There are many reasons why falling in love with Sirius Black is a bad idea. 1) They're best friends. 2) Her dad is Tom Riddle. 3) She's a threat. Through all of this her half-brother Augustus Rookwood, first-class prat and renowned Death Eater discovers the truth and so Voldemort begins the hunt.
1. Chapter 1

Inkheart - Chapter 1

I lounged in the Slytherin common room, my ankles crossed as I led on the sofa. The ornate silver wall clock tolled six in the evening and the flames in the fireplace hissed before turning green and roaring beneath the mantle. I swung my legs to the side, setting my feet down on the carpet and pulling on the black pumps I'd taken off earlier. I stood, walking quickly to the small door classed to me and looking back at the room.

It was beautiful. The stone walls were worn with laughter and the Black Lake's reflection danced across the ceiling. The fireplace was surrounded by couches of quilted black leather, a glass table in the middle of them. Around the room there were green, silver and black furnishings, the dark wooden doors to the dormitories on opposite sides of the room. I pushed open the door to the girl's dorms and climbed the straight staircase, passing the Prefects dormitory, then the first, second, third, fourth and fifth years before getting to my room.

There were eight four poster beds in the rectangular Sixth Year dormitory, four on each side with a heater in the middle. My bed was the farthest from the door with a brass plaque on it saying my name.

Ravenna Vasilisa Merope Rookwood-Delacour-Riddle. Mouthful or what? I crouched down by my trunk, pulling out my black riding cloak and putting it on over my floor length velveteen gown that I was wearing. I rummaged in the corner for a small plastic bag and found it, grabbing it and throwing a few treats to my three cats sat on my pillows. They were patchy in colour, a tabby-like pattern of grey, white and black across their bodies. Harlequin, Maleficent and Tybalt stared at me happily with their golden eyes, eating the small fish-shaped biscuits before settling back down to sleep.

I closed my trunk and tapped my wand on the plaque at the end of my bed. The last two surnames disappeared leaving me as Ravenna Vasilisa Merope Rookwood. Nobody knew about my parentage apart from myself and my true mother and father.

As I made my way to Great Hall I thought about it. My mother and father, Tom Riddle and Lucia Rookwood n e Delacour were never meant to have slept together, but I supposed he was the Dark Lord and could do anything he wanted without fear of repercussions. I fingered the locket that hung around my neck. It was heavy, the delicate golden chain straining under the weight of the burden that was a fragment of my father's soul. When he'd made his first Horcrux, the one suspended between my collar bones, I'd been seven years old and my eyes had turned deep red. Initially they'd been blue, like my mother's, but the moment that he killed his father and grandparents they'd changed to crimson, a dark and smooth colour reminiscent of blood in the way it caught the light. I tucked a strand of my black hair behind my ear, the charmed ringlets falling perfectly over the hood of my cloak.

I moved towards the crowd of First Years waiting eagerly by the door to the Great Hall. As I stepped between them gracefully one of them tapped my shoulder and I turned to her, smiling at the small pink-haired girl.

"Miss, what house are you in? Which ones the best? What year are you?" she questioned nervously before blushing, "Sorry, my Nymphadora Tonks but I want people to just call me Tonks. My name's ridiculously long." Nymphadora held her hand out to me and I shook it kindly.

"Trust me, I know," I laughed, "My name's Ravenna Vasilisa Merope Rookwood. It's a nightmare. I'm a Sixth Year Slytherin but it's the worst house. It's dangerous and full of horrible and rude people. I would have to say Gryffindor is the best but Hufflepuff is definitely the safest." Tonks frowned, her hair turning a dark shade of purple.

"I hope you don't get hurt," she pouted in concern.

"I won't, I promise," I smiled, placing my hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner. "I really must go and take my seat though Tonks. I'm sure I'll run into you soon enough." She nodded and I left, curtsying politely to Professor McGonagoll and receiving a nod and smile in return before walking through the huge doors.

People stared. They always did. I was a quarter Veela and a quarter Kelpie with black hair and alabaster skin, of course they stared. I strode to the Slytherin table, smiling at the Ravenclaws and taking my seat next to my friend Narcissa Black.

"Ava! I missed you so much over summer and it was so busy. Lucius proposed to me and Regulus joined up, which is dreadful by the way, he's so young, but yeah, Bella got married and Sirius ran away so Auntie Walburga's going crazy and I-"

"Sirius left? Is he alright?" I interrupted her. She crossed her arms and frowned, her icy blue eyes glaring at me from beneath her black and blonde fringe. "Cissa come on, you know he's my friend. Him, Reg, Gus and I were thick as thieves when we were children." I pleaded with her and she softened, uncrossing her arms. I smiled.

"He's okay I guess. He's staying with Potter I think, that one with the messy hair that has a thing for the mudblood-"

"Muggle-born," I corrected but she ignored me.

"But he got blasted of the tapestry in the drawing room. Oh, my oldest sister, Andromeda, remember her? She was disowned as well for marrying filth. Well, her half-breed daughter is starting this year. Theadora or something like that." Narcissa told me in a hushed voice, glancing around. "I want to meet her. I'm not meant to but she's my niece you know? I'm excited and I can dress her up and stuff but Bella and Lucius would kill me if they found out." I hugged her gently.

"Nymphadora," I whispered in her ear, "I met her just outside and told her to steer clear of Slytherin, to try for Hufflepuff instead, so that she'd be safe." Cissa's arms tightened around me gratefully.

"Thank you," she said tearfully before pulling away as Dumbledore called us to silence. During his speech I looked along our table, spotting my older brother Augustus sitting with Evan Rosier and Narcissa's fianc Lucius Malfoy. He nodded his head and I smiled, inclining my own in response. I moved on looking for one of my old friends Regulus Black, seeing him sat with Yaxley and Nott. I frowned. They were idiots.

When the Sorting started I zoned out until Professor McGonagoll came to the R's.

"Ripley, Rhiannon."

"Gryffindor!"

"Rookwood, Hector." My breath caught in my throat. Please, no, anything but-

"Slytherin!" I paled, the blood leaving my cheeks as my little brother hopped down from the stool and walked towards me. I stood from the bench and embraced him tightly, his blonde hair bright against my dark cloak.

"Hec, you've got to stay away from Reg and Gus' friends okay? They're dangerous," I begged and he nodded, squeezing me one last time before running to sit with the other First Years. I sat down wearily, not even bothering to turn around, leaving my back to the others. I rested my head on Narcissa's shoulder and looked out across the Great Hall as more students were sorted.

Between the heads of the Ravenclaws I caught the eye of Sirius Black, his pale grey stare heavy with sadness and worry. He understood. I smiled weakly, my eyes watering a little. I saw him move his arm and felt something appear in my hand. I raised an eyebrow questioningly before opening up the little bit of paper in my palm. 'I'm sorry.'

I looked to him, sending the piece of paper back and watching his face crumple as he read my words. 'Me too.'

"Tonks, Nymphadora." I quickly turned to Narcissa, pointing at Tonks meaningfully.

"Hufflepuff!" I clapped loudly, grinning when the young Metamorphmagus waved at me happily.

"Rookwood, stop," Mulciber snapped at me harshly. I glared.

"As much as you'd like to, you don't own me," I replied defiantly. As everyone started piling food onto their plates I realised that the Sorting had ended. I filled my goblet with water, casting a non-verbal and wandless charm to turn it into red wine. I sipped it quietly while everyone ate, my appetite having vanished completely.

"Ava," I heard from behind me and turned to see Reg standing there. I frowned. "I need to talk to you about something."

"No." I replied, taking another sip of my wine.

"What?"

"I said no Black, I'm not talking to you." He growled deep in his throat, his eyes wounded and angry. "Go away, we're done here." I drained what remained of my wine and stood, leaving the Great Hall with my cloak dragging across the stone floor behind me.

Once in the corridor I lift up the front of my skirts, running up the Grand Staircase and to an oil painting on the fourth floor of a girl dancing beneath a cherry tree at night. I shakily sang a few lines of Claire De Lune to it before it swung open, revealing a doorway. I stepped through the portrait hole and let it close behind me.

I just stood there, staring at the room. The old brown leather armchairs looked so welcoming by the fire, the stack of worn books on the small side table so familiar to me. This was my refuge but I couldn't bring myself to fully enter it. I waited for something to happen, anything.

The portrait hole opened behind me and I turned, my body relaxing when I saw who it was. Sirius.

He rushed forward and took me in his arms. I collapsed into him and he lowered us to the ground, our bodies intertwined as he leaned against the wall and I sobbed into his chest.

"He's going to die Sirius, both of them, and Mother's telling Mr Rookwood he isn't my real father so I'm not going to have anywhere to go and I'm so scared," I wept. He kissed my hair and rocked me gently.

"Hector and Reg will be okay Lissa, I promise," he comforted me, stroking my back in circles. Of course he'd know who I was talking to, we'd spent our childhoods together. Reg, Gus and Sirius were fiercely protective of Hector and I growing up, fighting off other children to keep us to themselves. "I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you," I whispered against his neck, the touch of my lips and breath chasing the flush of his throat. He stroked my hair, kissing my head as I cried myself to sleep. 


	2. Chapter 2

Inkheart - Chapter 2

Sunlight swam across my skin and its gentle glow lured me from my dreamless sleep. My eyelids were heavy as I opened them, my body locked in Sirius' arms still.

We had fallen asleep against the wall, sat in the small corridor that opened up into the room that only the two of us knew about. It wasn't even on the Map, Sirius hadn't told the boys and he wouldn't. It was ours. In the night I had slipped off of his lap and now I sat beside him, my legs stretched across his thighs and my torso resting against his chest. I placed my palm on his face and stroked his cheek with my thumb.

"Sirius, wake up," I said quietly, "It's dawn and we have classes today. Sirius," his grey eyes flickered open and after a moment's shock he returned my gaze sleepily.

"Your eyes are red," he mumbled and I smiled. "Why?"

"Magic Sirius," I laughed, swinging my legs off of him and standing, holding my hand out to help him up. Sirius stood, grabbing his head and falling against the wall again, filling me with panic. "Sirius? What's wrong?"

"Head rush," he groaned. I shook my head through a smile, my worry replaced by soft laughter as I smoothed my gown and hair, taking Sirius by the upper arm and leading him through the portrait hole.

The Grand Staircase was lit only by lanterns in paintings and the light of my wand. Sirius and I walked in silence, our footsteps muffled and our breath carried by the September chill.

"Liss?" Sirius half-whispered, "Why are you in Slytherin? You're too good for them." I raised my eyebrow and he backtracked immediately. "I don't mean that you're better than them, which you definitely are, but that you're kind and gentle and selfless, not cunning and egotistical. I just don't understand." Silence fell again for a second while I contemplated my answer.

"I was scared Sirius. I didn't want Father to be angry at me," I told him, staring directly ahead.

"He's not even your dad Liss," Sirius protested.

"I meant my actual dad," I mumbled. I felt Sirius hand slip into mine, the callouses from his Beater's bat rough against my own soft palms. "You'll hate me when I finally tell you." Sirius stopped walking and out his hands on my waist.

"I could never hate you, not even if I tried. You know that," he told me. Guilt coursed through me. My father was the reason that Sirius was driven away from his family, the reason that our brothers would inevitably be corrupted and killed.

From the Clock Tower a loud ringing noise, alerting us to the fact that it was seven o'clock and classes would start in two hours. I kissed Sirius' cheek, hugging him tightly before stepping backwards.

"I'll see you in Potions," I promised, raising my hand in a small wave before turning and slipping behind a portrait into a secret staircase, still feeling the warmth of Sirius' hands on my hips. I hurried down the narrow steps, careful to lift my skirt to my knees so as not to trip in the half light. I pulled my wand from the pocket in my sleeve and whispered "Alohamora," slipping through the small wooden doorway. I was in the kitchens now, the steam that filled the bustling rooms before every meal funnelled through the door as I opened it.

"Good morning Mistress Riddle-Delacour!" squeaked one of the House Elves, the first to have noticed me. The others lifted their heads from their work and echoed the greeting en mass. I smiled.

"Good morning everyone, I trust you are well?" I asked politely as I walked between work surfaces.

"Yes Mistress Riddle-Delacour," they all answered happily.

"Excellent, I must be off now or I'll be late to breakfast and I wouldn't want to miss your wonderful cooking. I'll come and visit you after school," I promised, leaving the kitchen and coming out via the painting of the fruit bowl on the First Floor. From there it took me mere minutes to get to the dungeons.

After saying the password - "ambition" - I entered the Slytherin common room and ran up the steps to my dorm. Thankfully the others in my dormitory had already left for breakfast so I was able to dress in peace. I donned my white blouse and grey skirt, pulling on a black cardigan and knee high grey socks before tying my green and silver tie around my neck. I shrugged on my school robes and set my father's locket down on top of my trunk. I ran my fingers through my permanently smooth black ringlets and swept some red lipgloss over my already plump and rosy lips.

I grabbed my leather satchel from under my bed and filled it with the things I'd need from my trunk - pot of black ink, quill, spare quill, parchment and subject textbooks. I checked the timetable stuck onto the wall by my headboard.

Potions.  
Study Period.  
Defence Against the Dark Arts.  
Break.  
Charms.  
Elemental Manipulation.  
Lunch.  
Alchemy.  
Transfiguration.  
Herbology.

I smiled at my timetable. This year I had almost every single lesson with Sirius, apart from Alchemy and Elemental Manipulation which I had with Lily and Remus.

"Gemino," I charmed, taking the copy and folding it neatly, slipping it into my satchel and grabbing one last thing before I left the room. Father's birthday gift to me had been a necklace, the Snitch that we had used when I first beat him at Quidditch, hanging on a delicate gold chain. I whispered in Parseltongue and it opened, revealing two small doors inside. I tapped my wand against them and they swung apart to show a miniature Time Turner. "Diminuendo," I cast, directing the spell towards the heavy Horcrux locket, shrinking it and placing it inside the Snitch before closing it, clasping it around my neck and leaving the room.

"Ava!" I heard someone call as I left the common room. Turning to face them I saw Regulus running towards me. I scowled and walked away, only to feel his hand on my shoulder. I cast a non-verbal charm sending an electric shock down his arm. "Crap!" he exclaimed, cradling his arm. "What the hell Ava?" I whipped around, standing face to face with him.

"I'm not talking to you anymore if it wasn't obvious enough Black. You chose and you're going to die now. Enjoy your last few years, I hope they kill you inside but the Death Eaters end the rest of you," I hissed, turning away from him and leaving the dungeons and my best friend behind. 


	3. Chapter 3

Inkheart - Chapter 3

The Great Hall was full, its enchanted ceiling harbouring drifting clouds that were pale as snow. I looked over at the Slytherin table filled with dread and walked past the Ravenclaws with a fake smile plastered on my face, a wave to everyone and a carefully practiced skip in my step.

I said good morning to Narcissa, Hector and everybody else, pointedly ignoring Reg who had slipped in behind me with a particularly sour look on his face, before grabbing a flask of hot cinnamon apple juice and a small pumpkin pastry knot and leaving the Hall. Lily Evans hurried out after me, meeting me in the corridor, her green eyes bright.

"Inky! Goodness I'm so glad to see you. The boys were a nightmare last night but Sirius disappeared so there was no one to distract James and he just talked to me all evening until I, what?" Lily stopped in response to my raised eyebrow.

"So he's James now is he?" I smirked, taking a sip of pumpkin juice as we headed towards Potions. She frowned, her forehead creasing.

"I guess, I don't know, I just, shut up," Lily scowled, flustered and blushing. I laughed brightly, memories of Reg and Hector all but forgotten. "How was your summer?"

"The usual, being carted around to balls, having to weasel my way out of engagements to Death Eaters, getting kicked out of the house because your mother finally told the man that has treated you like a daughter for the last sixteen years that he wasn't really your father," my voice cracked and despite Lily's taking of my hand in her own I didn't look at her, for fear that she'd see the tears in my eyes.

"Inky, I'm so sorry," Lily said sincerely, resting her head on my shoulder as we walked. "You can stay with me if you want? I could ask my parents. Petunia would hate it but she's never home anyway, always off with her fianc Vernon. He looks like a walrus that swam into a window, it's disgusting." We laughed quietly, though I knew that it was only because we were allowing ourselves to be distracted.

"I don't think Father would let me Snowy, but thank you," I replied gratefully. Lily was the only one that knew who my father was and, though she hated him, she understood that he was still my dad and I couldn't change that. She nodded as we reached Slughorn's classroom and set our things out on the back bench that had been ours since third year. "Do you want to know something else though?" I offered, setting my bag down and sitting on the creaky stool.

"Yes, yes, what is it?" Lily asked excitedly as she sat next to me. I crossed my fingers over my heart as she smiled at our childish symbol of secrecy, mirroring the gesture, "Cross my heart and I hope to die, to bite my tongue and bide my time, hide you truth for all my life." I grinned, leaning closer as a group of Ravenclaw boys entered the dungeon classroom, sitting near the front.

"I think I'm in love with Sirius," I confessed.

"Oh my God!" Lily shouted, standing up and knocking her stool over. The loud clatter made the boys at the front turn around but I waved at them, throwing flirtatious smiles and grabbing Lily to sit down again. "Are you serious?" I stared at her until she realised what she said and erupted into a fit of giggles. "Wow, this is big," Lily finally said when she had stopped laughing. "Like super big."

"Pretty much," I confirmed, "My Patronus did the thing."

"The thing?" Lily questioned, her eyes wide.

"The thing," I nodded.

"Woah," she breathed. Over the summer my Patronus had changed from a panther to a massive dog, a Grimm to be precise. Padfoot. "Do you think his is Inkpelt?" Lily asked quietly as the classroom slowly started filling up. I shrugged before smirking.

"Do you think James' is Snowpaw?" I shot back as the boys entered. Lily flicked me hard in the arm making me yelp loudly. James, Sirius and Remus turned from the desk in front of us, having set down their things and looking to see what had made that noise. I pointed at Lily as she pointed at me. "Liar," I stuck my tongue out at her, smiling before looking at Sirius and blushing, taking a sudden interest in heading up my parchment. I heard Lily stifle a laugh and kicked her under the desk.

"Shit, ow!" she hissed, glaring at me and rubbing her shin.

"Okay, so that one actually was me," I admitted sheepishly, making the boys laugh as I tossed my hair to the side, irritated that it was falling in the damp ink of my freshly penned title.

"Getting a bit Inky are we?" Lily asked, a smug smile gracing her lips.

"You know, that's never been as funny as you think it is," I told her, referring to her pun on my name. Lily and I weren't as clueless as the Marauders seemed to think. We knew Remus was a werewolf and we knew that Sirius, James and Peter were Animagi. They just didn't know that we were as well.

"Still fun though," she grinned. Lily's Animagus was Snowpaw, a soft caramel coloured doe with wide eyes and white spots running across her spine and hindquarters while mine was a huge panther, Inkheart. Inky, as Lily affectionately referred to her, had a thick glossy coat comprised of blacks, dark blues, indigos and rich teals, her piercing scarlet eyes glinting against her fur.

"Hello everybody," Professor Slughorn called cheerily as he entered the classroom with a stack of books in hand. As he ran through the syllabus Sirius leaned backwards, reaching his arm out to me and dropping a note into my palm. 'Are you okay?'

'I am satisfyingly average. How are you?' I non-verbally levitated the note from my desk onto his lap before copying down the course outline that Professor Slughorn had written on the blackboard.

'Tired and sad that I didn't talk to you at breakfast' the note said in Sirius' neat handwriting when it appeared on the desk again, a detailed picture of Sirius, James and Remus crying accompanying it. I grinned, drawing a heart around it and adding 'I only dropped in to grab a pastry. I had a run-in with Reg this morning and wasn't in the mood to entertain.'

Sirius turned to me once he'd read it, his eyes full of worry. He mouthed 'What happened?' just as Professor Slughorn called his name.

"Yes sir?" he replied, whipping his head to the front.

"While Miss Rookwood is very beautiful I would appreciate it if you could find it in yourself to keep your eyes on me," Professor Slughorn remarked sarcastically, causing a group of Slytherins to snicker a over themselves.

"Actually Professor, I've found myself feeling quite faint and Sirius happened to notice. He was offering to help me to the hospital wing and, if you don't mind, I would like to go. I do feel awful," I lied, exaggerating my need to lean on my desk. Professor Slughorn looked shocked before regaining his composure.

"Yes, of course Miss Rookwood. Twenty points to Gryffindor for gallantry Mister Black," Slughorn said before turning back to the board. I cast a non-verbal summoning charm, gathering my things into my bag. I did the same for Sirius and he smiled at me gratefully, slinging his satchel and my own over his right shoulder and slipping his left arm around my waist, leading me from the classroom as I leaned into him, feigning dizziness.

"Liss you got me points and a free, yes!" Sirius cheered quietly when we were out of earshot of the dungeons. I smiled at him as we automatically began walking towards our room behind the dancing girl and the cherry tree painting. Though I had straightened myself up a little once the charade of illness became unnecessary, Sirius kept his arm around my waist and I continued to lean into him, my slender frame resting against his body.

"People suck," I announced.

"I concur!" Sirius shouted in a fake accent, making me smile. "What happened with Reg? You never said, or wrote I guess." I sighed.

"I was leaving the common room," I began to explain, pausing to let Sirius stop hissing like a snake, "when Reg came up behind me and grabbed my arm, so naturally I electrocuted him and I guess he didn't see it coming, since it was non-verbal, and he said "What the hell?" which pissed me off so I told him that I hope that before the other Death Eaters kill him he's driven insane by guilt and that his last years suck. So all in all I think it turned out wonderfully," I deadpanned. Sirius' hand slipped from my waist to my hip and he started stroking my hip home in a comforting yet extremely sensual manner.

"I'm sorry my brother's such an ass," Sirius apologised and I hummed in agreement, not quite able to form coherent sentences. We reached the portrait in comfortable silence and Sirius sang for us to enter, leading me in and never moving his hand. He set our bags down and we untangled ourselves to take off our robes, leaving us in our school uniforms, though Sirius was quick to find my hip again.

We flopped down on the sofa in front of the fire, Sirius sitting in the corner and my legs curled up beside me as I leaned against him.

"Did you just purr?" Sirius suddenly asked, an eyebrow raised and a smile on his lips.

"Maybe," I replied noncommittally, my eyes closing as I relaxed into Sirius' touch. He ran his hand down my thigh gently before bringing it back up, his fingers just glancing beneath the hem of my skirt before finding their way to my stomach. Sirius turned, his body flush against mine, his arm tight around my waist.

"Are you feeling better yet?" he asked, his voice low and husky as my heart rate increased.

"A little," I replied, staring into his eyes. His lips were so close to mine, our faces just an inch or two apart.

"Is there anyway I can help?"

"I can think of one," I replied suggestively before Sirius pressed his lips against mine. There were no fireworks, no images of our future, but there was a wonderful warmth in knowing that this was Sirius and that he was the one kissing me, opening himself up to me. Without removing his lips from mine Sirius lifted me, lying me down flat and straddling me, his knees either side of my hips as his hands found their way to my neck and back. I parted my lips and Sirius' tongue slipped into my mouth as he ran his hand down my side, a shiver chasing his touch and making arch my back, bucking my hips into his. We were so close, touching everywhere, nothing between us.

Until I realised that there was: all of my secrets. I slowed my pace, pulling away and looking into Sirius' grey eyes. I lifted my palm to his cheek as he rested his forehead against mine.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he breathed, his words tangible on my lips.

"Enlighten me then," I replied, smiling dumbly.

"Third year," he confessed. My eyes widened.

"Really?" He kissed my softly as confirmation and I was almost dragged back in by his warmth, the familiarity of his touch but pulled away none the less. "We can't, things have changed Sirius. I'm homeless, our brothers are both going to be Death Eaters and you don't know the slightest things about my parents." Sirius hauled himself off of me angrily, pacing in front of the fireplace and I sat up, straightening my skirt.

"Come and live with James and I, we'll sort out Reg and Gus and Hector and you can tell me about your parents. I've told you already I won't hate you. I promised you that," Sirius pleaded, leaning against the wall and running his hand through his hair. I stood, walking to him.

"My dad won't let me," I whispered, placing a hand on his chest and resting my head on his shoulder.

"Who is he? I'll talk to him," Sirius begged and I swallowed, taking a step back. I walked to the other side of the room, "Where are you going?"

"I don't want you to hurt me when you get mad," I explained. Sirius looked furious, his eyes glinting angrily.

"I would never hurt you," he snapped defiantly.

"I know that, and I trust you, but I don't want to take chances. This is big," I said before taking a shaking breath. "My name is Ravenna Vasilisa Merope Rookwood-Delacour-Riddle." Sirius looked confused.

"So you're slightly French," he trailed off, implying that I should continue.

"From the Delacour bit - my mother - I'm quarter Kelpie and quarter Veela," I told him and when he raised an eyebrow I continued, "Kelpie are those water demons that can change form and like to appear as abandoned horses near rivers and then drown and eat people." Sirius nodded cautiously, as if expecting me to drown him that second. "I'm a quarter Sirius, mostly human. The Riddle is the worst part actually." I laughed nervously. "My dad's name is Tom Marvolo Riddle which became a dumb anagram that everyone's terrified of."

"I don't understand," Sirius said, a look of denial on his face. He knew but he didn't want to admit it. I'd have to say it. I waved my hand and fiery letters appeared spelling out my father's name. Slowly they moved, forming the words 'I am Lord Voldemort.' Sirius' eyes were wide and he slid down the wall, crouching on the floor in horror. "No," he whispered.

"Sirius, please, I'm nothing like him, you know that," I begged, rushing towards him.

"No!" he shouted. "No! I ran away from them, I ran away from him and now you're here ruining everything. He's evil! I loved you!" Sirius screamed with tears streaming down his face. "I loved you and you betrayed me. You lured me in with your fucking Veela-Kelpie magic and you're just like my family, but you're worse!" Sirius stood, yelling in my face and I backed away, tears pooling in my eyes. "You ruined it! Go away. You're the reason why my little brother's going to die, why I don't have a home to go to! I hate you!" I was pressed against the portrait, crying as Sirius stalked towards me.

"I'm so sorry Sirius," I whispered before grabbing my bag and slipping out of the door, running away.

It was second period, my only free of the day, and I was grateful for it as I sprinted through the empty corridors and out onto the grounds. Headed towards the Black Lake, I dropped my bag as soon as I reached the shore and threw off my tie and shirt, jumping into the icy water. I dived deep, relishing the pain that came with the transformation. My legs fused together, the pale skin burning as I kicked through the murky lake. My fifteen foot long tail propelled me quickly downwards, my eyes widening and fins growing from my upper arms, back and hips, long trailing things that were translucent in the cold sunlight that pierced the surface. I reached the bottom after Merlin knows how long and finally released the sorrow that I'd held in.

I screamed as my ribs shook with each sob, swimming in a tight circle and kicking up black sand. I yelled and cried and swore about everything, my dark hair fanned out behind my head as I allowed my body to relax and float to the bed of the lake. I wept quietly, my anger gone and replaced with loss.

"I loved you!"

Past tense.

"I hate you!"

Present.

I shut my eyes and cried until I fell asleep for the second time this week. 


	4. Chapter 4

Inkheart - Chapter 4

Sirius turned up late to Defence with red eyes, a bad sour mood and no Ravenna. The two of them had just had a free lesson while Remus, James, Peter and I were in History of Magic, a lesson that I'm sure James only took because of me.

Sat next to Remus with Ava's seat free in my left, I looked along the table to where Sirius had just thrown his bag under the table and sat down next to James.

"Mister Black, you're late," Professor Hawthorne snapped.

"I'm aware," Sirius replied, not making any effort to give an excuse.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," Hawthorned said, casting a glare before giving us a page number. Sirius stood up loudly.

"Why don't you make it a fucking hundred and see if I give a shit? House points don't matter! No one cares!" he yelled, pushing his stool over and leaving the classroom, slamming the door behind him.

"Professor, can I go and see if he's alright?" I asked, raising my hand.

"No Miss Evans, you cannot. Mister Black will have to learn to grow up by himself and also learn that his acting like a child will negatively impact everyone. Two hundred points from Gryffindor for temper tantrums." As Professor Hawthorne continued the class sat quietly, the usual groan that normally accompanied the docking of house points replaced by stunned silence. 


	5. Chapter 5

Inkheart - Chapter 5

"What in Merlin's name was that Padfoot?" James shouted as Peter and I followed him into our dormitory after a quiet dinner from which both Sirius and Ravenna had been absent. I closed the door carefully and walked over to where Sirius was sprawled on his bed. "Answer me!" he yelled again.

"Fuck off Prongs!" Sirius shouted back, lifted his head from his pillow long enough to get the third word out.

"No way, you lost us two hundred points, Ava's disappeared and you're acting like a bitch! What the fuck is up?" James replied defiantly. Sirius turned around, his eyes raw from crying and now filled with panic.

"Lissa never came back to class? Not even Alchemy?" Sirius asked, looking to me for confirmation. I shook my head sadly. "Fuck!"

"Pads, what happened?" I asked, sitting on the bed beside him. James, having calmed down a little, sat on the end of his bed and was joined by Peter who looked wholly uncomfortable in the situation. Sirius cast an angry Muffliato on the door and threw his wand, red sparks shooting out of it unhappily when it hit Peter's Holyhead Harpies poster and singeing the Keeper's broom. She shouted in protest.

"We made out and then she said we couldn't because I didn't know about her parents so I told her to tell me and she said her surname's Rookwood-Delacour-Riddle and she's half French, quarter Veela, quarter murderous horse-mermaid and Voldemort's fucking daughter!" he ranted. James and I stared at each.

"A murderous horse-mermaid?" I asked after a few minutes' silence. Sirius looked at me in disbelief. "Do you mean a hippocampus?" He shook his head, eyebrow raised. "Kelpie?" He nodded before falling back into his pillows again. "Voldemort?"

"Yeah. His real name's Tom Marvolo Riddle, how fucking dumb is that? I mean Marvolo? How pretentious can you get?" Sirius rambled angrily. James snorted loudly and I glared at him.

"Sorry Pads mate, but your middle name is Orion," James laughed.

"Wanker," Sirius grumbled, "Right, so as I was saying, we were walking from class and ended up going into one of the old Prefects' lounges, but I had my hand around her waist still and she was leaning on me, from pretending to be sick and all that. We sat down on the sofa and we both took off our robes but I was stroking her hip and then she purred or moaned or something, I don't know but it was simultaneously the most adorable and hot thing I have ever heard in my life. Then I asked if there was any could I could make her feel better and she said there was one so I snogged her."

"Smooth!" James shouted loudly, jumping up from the bed and pumping his fist in the air, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Anyway, then we were lying down and making out and then she pulled away, told me we couldn't do this and all that stuff I told you and then I had a massive go at her and she left crying." Sirius ran his hand through his hair and sighed loudly.

"What did you say Sirius?" I asked gravely, my heart heavy.

"Bad shit Moony," he groaned. I gestured for him to continue, "I told her that she was worse than my family, that she was the reason Reg was going to die and I was pretty much homeless, I told that I loved her and then I said that I hated her."

"Well fuck," I said dumbly. We all sat in silence, no one quite sure what to say. Ava was Voldemort's daughter? What could we have said? There were no words. A part of me was angry but I understood why she didn't tell us. This was so much worse than my secret, it was massive and the one person that she had told took it awfully. On the other hand I didn't care. Ava was still the same person, the girl that fixed my broken arm in second year, the girl that carried baby kneazles through the snow and hail with Hagrid for eight hours and ended up with hypothermia. She was still the Slytherin seeker, the one that patched me up without question every month, the sister that I'd never had. I stood up. "I'm going to find her," I announced resolutely. "Prongs, map please," I held out my hand and James fished the piece of parchment from his robe pocket for me. I left the dorm, closing the dorm behind me and ran down the stairs, heading outside.

Once I was outside of the castle I opened the map - "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" - and searched frantically for the longest name I could find. I spotted a triple-barrelled surname in the middle of the Black Lake and ran towards the beach, full of panic. Her bag was thrown down on the floor, the ink bottle smashed and its contains bled into the sand. A Slytherin tie had fallen half in and half out of the water, saturated until the lake's reach ran out. Her blouse was there too, floating just off of the beach. I pocketed the map and rushed into the shallows, grabbing her shirt and looking across the lake. I couldn't see her. I cursed under my breath, casting my Patronus and giving it a message.

"She's in the middle of the Black Lake at the bottom. Come quickly. Peter, get Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey." The silver werewolf bounded off towards the castle, stepping on air. I cast a bubblehead charm and a repellant before diving under the surface. It was freezing cold and the light from the 'Lumos' charm that I'd cast did little to warm me though it did show me what it was like under the water. The answer was ruddy terrifying. Seaweed snaked up from the bed of the lake and shadows were cast by Grindylows against jagged onyx rocks. In a clearing I saw something that I'd never seen before. It was a mermaid but one unlike any that I'd studied. Her top half was human, though covered in pearlescent black scales up to the narrow of her waist her breasts would have been completely exposed had she not been lying face down in the sand. Sirius and James joined me as I continued to examine her. Her tail made up at least three quarters of her total length and she had curved violet fins sprouting from the backs of her arm and running along her spine as well as longer, thinner pelvic fins. Her skin was pale and her hair black and I realised with a start that it was Ava.

Sirius had figured it out first, kicking his legs quickly and swimming a few feet ahead of James and I. He reached Ava and pulled his shirt off while we looked away, only looking at her when Sirius swam past us with her limp body in his arms. She was dressed in his shirt, the thin white fabric clinging to her chest as we moved towards the surface, James and I casting wind charms behind us to propel us all upwards. Breaking through the waves felt colder than going beneath them had, the frosty breeze pulling the heat from our cores as we swam to beach. Peter was standing on the shoes with Dumbledore, Professor McGonagoll and Madam Pomfrey, a stretcher at the ready and a pile of thick coats that seeming to be growing of its own accord until I realised that Professor McGonagoll was transfiguring pebbles from the beach. Once in the shallows we ran, the professors meeting us in the water while Peter maintained the levitation charm on the stretcher, making it larger - "Engorgio!" he squeaked - when asked to. McGonagoll wrapped us up in the fleece-lined coats, pulling the hoods up and transfiguring spare jackets into scarves and gloves while we walked quickly up to the castle. James cast his Patronus and sent it to bring Lily to the hospital wing and I noticed that it was smaller than normal, and without antlers.

Set down on a stretched bed in the infirmary, we finally got to look at Ravenna properly. Her tail wasn't only black as I'd first thought, it was also deep purple and teal and blue, changing colour under the light. Her face was paler than usual, her lips without their normal rosy glow and her wet hair plastered to her cold cheeks. Sirius sat under blankets in an armchair by her head, stroking her head and whispering to her while James and I were bundled up in the two neighbouring beds.

Lily burst into the room, immediately going to Ava's side and then looking to James to know what happened. On the brink of sleep I heard and saw nothing other than the two of them hugging each other tightly in his bed while Lily cried. 


	6. Chapter 6

Inkheart - Chapter 6

The next day James and Remus were woken at noon and told to go to afternoon classes while Lily and I were allowed to stay in the infirmary. We sat in silence for hours, neither of us quite sure what to say and so resorting to staring at our friend wordlessly.

She hadn't transformed back yet, her tail was still long and glossy, the many colours of wet ink on parchment. Her fins however had shrunk back into her skin, leaving deep gashes where they had been. There were three cuts on either side of her neck where her gills had closed up and her cheeks were rosy again, but she still hadn't moved.

That night, myself still on the armchair and Lily in the bed that James had used, a clatter of metal woke me up. There was a food tray spinning on the floor and I stamped on it, desperate to stop the the ringing sound.

"Sirius," Ravenna croaked from the bed, her eyes half open and her lips dry. I rushed to her, placing my hands on either side of her face.

"Lissa, thank Merlin," I whispered in relief, pushing her hair out of her face with my thumb. It had dried into perfect waist length ringlet, her small side fringe sleek and curved towards the left side of her face.

"Sirius, I'm sorry," she murmured, her face scrunching up in pain. "You have to go now. I don't want you to see this."

"What do you mean? What are you going to do Liss?" I asked frantically, my eyes worried as she weakly tried to push me back.

"Stand back," she ordered in a small voice. I complied, trying to calm her but then she started writhing on her the bed, her back arching and her tail flicking out to the side. I understood that the tray hadn't just fallen, she'd knocked it off by accident. Ravenna screamed, clutching at her heart and crying as her body contorted painfully, her tail lashing out at the wall beside her. She looked like a fish out of water, panicked and scared. Lissa clawed at her shirt, ripping it away from her body and cutting deep red marks into her pale stomach. She was lifted slightly from the bed by a translucent white glow that cut through her tail causing her to yell out in again. The scales slowly disappeared and the tail shortened, soon leaving her with legs again.

"Liss," I hurried back to her side, taking off my Gryffindor robes and place them on her like a blanket. She sobbed quietly, her breathing laboured while Lily walked over from her bed with a pale face. She must have woken up halfway through Lissa's transformation I realised as she sat on the other side of the bed, holding her hand.

"Well done Inky, you're safe now," she whispered. "You're safe now." 


	7. Chapter 7

Inkheart - Chapter 7

When I woke up my head was ringing, my eyes stung by the light that streamed into the infirmary through the tall windows. Sirius was lying on the bed next to me, his arm wrapped around my slim waist protectively and his Gryffindor robes covering my body. With a start I realised that other than Sirius' robes draped over me I was completely naked.

"Sirius?" I whispered. He groaned before opening his eyes. "Morning," I smiled weakly. Sirius looked shocked, jumping backwards before grinning, hugging me tightly.

"Lissa, you have no idea how worried I was," he murmured against my hair. I was all too sensitive to our position, aware of our bodies flush against each other, separated only by the thin school robes and Sirius' school trousers. My hand rested against his bare chest while his were hot on the small of my back. "When I saw you in the lake I thought that you'd been killed by the Giant Squid or something." Sirius casts his grey eyes downwards, talking quietly, "I was so scared Liss. I don't know what I'd do if you were, you know, dead."

"Sirius, I'm fine, I'm sorry for scaring you," I apologised, resting my forehead against his. "I'm also sorry about not telling you about my father, I just didn't want you to hate me."

"I told you before that I could never hate you. I didn't mean what I said yesterday, I was just angry that you didn't trust me," Sirius tried to comfort me and it worked, to an extent. Sirius didn't mean what he'd said when he was shouting at me which meant that he didn't hate me but it also meant that hadn't ever loved me. Had he just said that to make me feel even worse about keeping it from you? I frowned and Sirius noticed, saying "Are you alright Liss?"

"I'm naked," I said dumbly, blushing at the first excuse that came to mind.

"Oh shit, right," Sirius jumped up and turned around, facing away from me. I pulled his robes tighter around my body and stood from the bed, turning to the pile of clothes on the dresser. "Lily brought the underwear down from your dorm for you and then there's my Quidditch sweater and two pairs of my pyjama trousers but I cut one so they'd be like shorts for you because I thought you might get hot," Sirius rambled but I wasn't really listening. I was staring at the mirror. I'd put on the deep wine red lace bra and panties that Lily had grabbed from my drawer as well as Sirius' gold and red tartan shorts before looking in the mirror.

My pale skin was riddled with scars and half-healed cuts, thick gashes along the backs of my arms and across my hips where my fins had been. My torso was a tangle of silver tiger-striped scars that I recalled to be a product of my self-aimed rage at the bottom of the Black Lake.

"Sirius," I whispered, the name falling from my lips heavy with pain and fear. Despite my eyes still being entirely trained on my wounds I saw Sirius' reflection turn around quickly and his eyes widen when he saw me. "How bad is my back?" I asked, fearful of the answer. His index finger traced a line just to the left of my spine.

"There's a cut about an inch wide running all the way down here," he began, his voice shaky. "There are deep scratches, from your fingernails I think, all across here," Sirius placed his hands just below my ribs and slid them gently all the way down my back, slightly pushing down the elasticated waistband of the shorts. Seeing the look on my face Sirius delicately placed one arm around my waist while other cupped my cheek. He towered me by half a foot, my tall and slender 5' 8" frame completely taken in munis broad shoulders and strong arms. I was all too aware of his naked chest flush against my back. It didn't hurt, I was too overwhelmed by how much I wanted this. "You're still beautiful. In fact, it's kind of hot."

Normally Sirius and I would have laughed then, but lust settled heavily in his silver eyes as he caught my own in the mirror. "Stunning," he whispered, leaning forward and dropping kisses along my neck. My heart pounded against my ribs as Sirius kissed my jaw and I turned around to face him.

"You said you loved me," I murmured as he pressed his lips to my defined collar bones, "and then you told me that you didn't mean anything you'd said." Sirius lifted his head, looking into my eyes as if searching for something.

"I didn't mean it when I said "I loved you," because that implies that I don't love you anymore. I still do," Sirius whispered against my lips before kissing me softly. "I love you," he rested his forehead against mine. "I love you Ravenna Delacour-Riddle." I pressed my lips firmly against his, kissing him fiercely and snaking my arms around his neck as his tightened around my waist, lifting me onto my tiptoes.

"I love you too," I told him, kissing him again. "I love you Sirius." My eyes shot open in realisation. "My dad's going to kill me." Sirius chuckled softly against my lips.

"I won't let him," he promised, "nobody will touch you." 


	8. Chapter 8

Inkheart - Chapter 8

"Good morning," Lily coughed pointedly. Sirius and I turned to her in shock and he pulled me closer to him defensively. "Well, you're both topless, so I'm going to leave," she announced, skipping over to us to kiss my cheek and pat Sirius on the head before leaving. "See you later Inky, Padfoot." Sirius' eyes were curious.

"Inky?" he questioned and I cursed under my breath.

"I forgot to tell you," I began and he raised his eyebrow, his eyes clouding with panic, "Lily and I know, about the Maraduers I mean. The Animagi and the Shrieking Shack, we figured it out in Fourth Year so we started studying. We're Animagi." Sirius' jaw had slacked slightly, his eyes wide and pale grey in the light.

"Really?" I nodded, "What are you?" he asked curiously.

"Inkheart, a panther," I smiled. "Lily's a doe, Snowpaw, and- What?" Sirius had burst out laughing. He'd doubled over, clutching his stomach.

"She's a doe? Prongs, James, is a stag," he announced, chuckling.

"I know, that's why she's so adamant that she's not going to date him. She doesn't want her fate decided or something," I told him, "but she's started calling him James and blushes whenever I mention him so I think she's giving in."

"Really? That's great!" he grinned. "Wait, did you say you were a panther?" I nodded, stepping back from him and clearing my mind, crouching to the ground. I concentrated on the knot in my stomach and worked on unravelling it. When it was loose I jumped onto the bed and launched myself into the air, the knot falling apart completely and my skin shuddering as fur shot through it. I landed and skidded slightly, the polished floor providing little grip for my huge paws. I stalked over to Sirius, my tail flicking and my shoulders rising with every step. I stood at around five foot tall with about two and half metres long from nose to tail. Sirius stroked my head and I purred loudly. He laughed, presumably reminded of how I had purred at his touch in our room behind the portrait.

I grinned lopsidedly, my dark fur glinting indigo in the rosy haze of dawn. Suddenly Sirius transformed before my eyes, his body twisting and changing until Padfoot stood in front of me, at least a foot shorter than me. He sniffed me before barking, a hearty chuckling sound and nudging my side with his head. I swatted at him with my paw and turned, slipping under the bed and lying down. Padfoot curled up beside me to sleep and I heard a distinct voice in my head.

"I love you." 


	9. Chapter 9

Inkheart - Chapter 9

Padfoot nudged my side, waking me up. It was dusk and the haze of twilight had settled in the hospital wing, spilling into each corner and beneath the bed. I could hear Madame Pomfrey moving around in the main part of the ward and my eyes widened. Sirius and I quickly transformed from our Animagi, myself still wearing just the checked pyjama shorts Sirius had found for me and my dark red bra. He quickly threw me his Quidditch jumper and we climbed onto the bed.

Sirius pretended to be asleep while I lay there, stroking his hair and leaning closer to him. After a few minutes Madame Pomfrey bustled her way towards us.

"Oh Miss Rookwood you're awake," she stated happily and suppressed the urge to role my eyes, "How are you feeling?"

"Very well actually Ma'am," I told her honestly, "though I do have a question. Will all of these cuts heal up?" Sirius squeezed my waist gently, reassuringly, sensing that I was nervous for her answer despite forcing a monotony into my voice.

"Any wounds you have will end up as scars I'm afraid. The water of the Black Lake isn't particularly forgiving," Madame Pomfrey told me apologetically. For a moment my composure wavered, my lip shaking a little as tears pooled in my eyes. Sirius shuffled closer to me in his fake slumber, his hand spread flat on my back.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, "always have been, always will be." I smiled softly and stroked his hair, kissing his forehead.

"Madame Pomfrey, when can I leave?" I asked the matron as she lined up vials of potions, for me I assumed.

"Tomorrow morning I should think Miss Rookwood," she said without looking up from her trolley. I frowned before she continued, "but if you take all of these without arguing I will discharge you tonight." Madame Pomfrey gestured towards eight small bottles of different coloured liquids and without question I downed them all. The purple and green tasted vile and left me gagging while the other six weren't as bad, bitter and smelling like death but I could stomach them. She smiled at me, shocked before noting something down on her clipboard. "You can leave but no Quidditch for a week and I want someone with you at all times." I nodded, eager to leave the ward.

I pretended to shake Sirius awake and he pulled a lopsided grin, handing me his school robes again to wear over his Quidditch sweatshirt and pyjama shorts. Both of us put on a pair of socks and Sirius a t-shirt that Remus had brought for us and we left the ward, thanking Madame Pomfrey. Still weak, Sirius kept his arm tightly around my waist, supporting me as we walked towards the Great Hall.

We entered right in the middle of the meal, myself with my pale, bruised and cut legs exposed and Sirius taking the majority of my weight. My hair was perfect, of course, and my cheeks flushed under the scrutiny of the entire student body. The hall fell silent for a few moments before erupting in cheers.

Sirius pressed a kiss into my hair as James, Remus, Peter and Lily ran towards us, hugging me tightly and the staff stood from their chairs, applauding. I was back. 


End file.
